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Landscape lighting by professionalsSun, 04 Feb 2018 23:41:01 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/2e6a2b8a55fddeb8797cf014dfc9b6fc?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngP.M. Lighting's Bloghttps://pmlightingblog.com
EOS – The Leading Cause of LED Failureshttps://pmlightingblog.com/2016/12/01/eos-the-leading-cause-of-led-failures/
https://pmlightingblog.com/2016/12/01/eos-the-leading-cause-of-led-failures/#respondThu, 01 Dec 2016 23:25:41 +0000http://pmlightingblog.com/?p=438Continue reading →]]>Our friends at Brilliance LED have published a White Paper on Electrical Over Stress (EOS) and its role in LED failures. With permission from Brilliance, we are sharing this important information to help educate and inform installers of the perils of installing or changing LED lamps while the system is powered up. Best practices mandate that the transformer should be unplugged before changing or installing LEDs to any low-voltage landscape lighting system. Read the full paper below.

Electrical Over Stress

Back in the halogen and incandescent days of landscape lighting, it was a common practice by many contractors to install lamps while the system was on. This is known as a “hot plug-in”. This practice has been widely used especially if a contractor was out providing maintenance on a lighting system.

As we have evolved into the era of LED light sources, the practice of hot plugging should be avoided. The reason for this is that it is virtually impossible to be 100% sure that there will not be the slightest electrical arc when a lamp is inserted into a socket or a connection is made with live cable. A hot plug-in can cause an “electrical over stress” (EOS) on many parts of the internal circuitry of an LED lamp or integrated fixture.

EOS can simply be described as an electrical component that is operated beyond its maximum rated electrical limit accidently or deliberately according to its rating on the specification sheet. In landscape lighting EOS can occur with a hot plug-in, a lighting strike, or a poorly made connection.

Some common signs of EOS are as follows:

One or more diodes out; in this case, the bonding wires inside the LED device have been broken.

Another sign could be a pungent burnt smell emitted from the lamp.

In some cases the back of the lamp may show a burn hole, especially with lightning.

EOS can also have an adverse effect on a fixture that requires a remote low voltage driver. If a driver is connected live when attached to its respective fixture, it can cause an EOS failure.

The question now is how do we change the hot plug-in install? My suggestion would be that when performing maintenance on an older system, unplug the transformer before installing the LED lamp or integrated fixture to insure the power is off to the socket. This same method can also be used on new installations with a standard landscape lighting transformer. If you happen to be working with a smart app driven transformer, insure the remote control has the system off. Most of the smart phone apps will allow for a simple on and off for the transformer.

Ultimately, to avoid EOS, make sure to have solid potted cable connections and no power to the fixtures upon installation. If a situation arises where lightning has caused the EOS, check to see if the homeowner’s insurance will cover lightning damages.

After several lean years during the recession, followed by the slow revival of the home-building and commercial-construction sectors, landscape designers are finally feeling like their industry is surging, with customers jumping on trends ranging from outdoor kitchens to landscape lighting to sustainable elements. A mild winter meant an early start for these professionals, who are optimistic the brisk business will continue throughout 2016.

It’s a simple question, just four words. But it speaks volumes about the optimism area landscape designers feel about the 2016 season.

“The golden question we’re hearing is, ‘when can you start?’ Not ‘let me get back to you,’ but ‘when can you start?’” said Stephen Roberts, president of Stephen A. Roberts Landscape Architecture & Construction in Springfield. “We haven’t heard those words much the last eight years, but we’re starting to hear them. People want to pull the trigger and go.”

……………

They’re also increasingly looking to install artistic landscape lighting, also known as architectural lighting, a niche popular in the South that is coming into its own in the Northeast. As opposed to powerful floodlights, landscape lighting uses a variety of smaller accent lights to highlight the features of a home and yard. “Outdoor lighting is being requested a lot more, with the LED lights available now,” Roberts said. “Those are more energy-efficient, and more people are gravitating toward them than in the past. They’re coming up earlier in the conversation, instead of something being added on in the future; people are asking for lighting up front.” All these features reflect national landscaping trends, according to Corinne Gangloff, media relations director for the Freedonia Group, which studies landscaping trends. She writes that, “as part of the outdoor living trend, homeowners create outside kitchens and living rooms, and businesses extend outdoor areas to expand their seating space. Urban communities increasingly create ‘parklets,’ small green spaces that may feature flower beds, container gardens, walking paths, water features, seating, bird-watching opportunities, and statuary. Some communities have used these parks as a way to address the issue of abandoned homes in blighted neighborhoods, tearing down the structures and replacing them with this type of public green space.”

In a recent article in Garden Variety, an online magazine from Moffly Media, professional landscape designer Mark Hicks discusses key improvements that can turn a basic garden into a showplace. A few excerpt are below showing his thoughts on the importance of landscape lighting. A link to the complete article is at the end.

6 tips from a pro to take your garden from mediocre to magnificent.

From his office in New Canaan, Mark Hicks of Elise Landscapes & Nursery conceives some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in Fairfield and Westchester counties. Since he founded the business in 1983, he’s designed everything from intimate gardens to sprawling estates, winning awards in the process, along with accolades from his clients and peers who champion his work, including landscapes showcased at the annual New Canaan Secret Gardens tour. We asked this design expert for his thoughts on the features that can turn a run-of-the-mill garden into something serenely spectacular.

Landscape Lighting

Hicks is a fan of landscape lighting. “It extends the effects and enjoyment of a garden, at least for as long as you keep lights on. And it’s becoming more sophisticated, with features like low-voltage LED bulbs, which use less electricity and can stand up to rough weather,” he says. Lighting is being used in more non-traditional ways, too. You can put lights in water, in columns and high up in trees, so they shine down and offer a dreamier, more romantic look than traditional uplighting.”

]]>https://pmlightingblog.com/2015/07/21/garden-upgrade-6-tips-from-a-pro/feed/1pmlighting4-19-10 PM Lighting.Gould, Johnathan.After.Landscape IIShedding Light on Sustainable Desert Gardens | The Nationalhttps://pmlightingblog.com/2015/03/05/shedding-light-on-sustainable-desert-gardens-the-national/
https://pmlightingblog.com/2015/03/05/shedding-light-on-sustainable-desert-gardens-the-national/#respondThu, 05 Mar 2015 17:49:44 +0000http://pmlightingblog.com/?p=403Continue reading →]]>While doing research on sustainability with regards to landscape lighting, I found an interesting article on The National web site. The writer, Jane Aldersley, talks about the environmentally friendly benefits of LED lighting given the extremely low energy consumption of today’s LED technology. This was not surprising since it is well known that LED energy consumption can save upwards of 80% in energy costs when compared to traditional incandescent or halogen lighting. However, Ms. Aldersley provides a fresh view on the extended sustainability benefits of quality LED outdoor lighting, benefits that may be even more important to environmentalists and nature lovers alike. By using quality LED outdoor lighting fixtures, gardens and landscapes can be enhanced and plantings will be able to grow, mature, and develop over time since these fixtures will not need to be replaced every few years. Using low quality fixtures that require replacement or frequent maintenance creates ongoing problems associated with digging up the gardens, reburying cable, and disrupting the natural environment of the landscaping.

It occurred to me that Ms. Aldersley may not have been aware that to achieve the ultimate sustainable garden, the use of quality LED outdoor lights made from SOLID COPPERwould provide benefits long after the 10-year window she mentions in her article. Our P.M. Lighting line of solid copper fixtures are designed to last a lifetime, not just 10 years, and the LED components can be easily replaced when they finally do burn out. Simply stated, our fixtures will outlast any LED component and it makes sense to be able to upgrade and replace just the LEDs in the future instead of having to replace the entire fixture. LED technology will continue to improve over the next several years so why get locked in to old technology or be forced to replace your fixtures when the LEDs wear out?

The bottom line is that LED technology and solid copper fixtures are the perfect combination to achieve the ultimate, truly sustainable, eco-friendly outdoor lighting system available. A few excerpts from the article and link to the site are below for your convenience.

PHOTO COURTESY GLOBAL LIGHT & POWER

“With the right low-energy LED fixtures, lighting can become a fantastically sustainable element in garden design – not only by minimising [sic] the amount of power used for illumination but also by enhancing textures, shapes and silhouettes, creating a captivating nightscape without the need for a lot of thirsty plants.”

“Aside from the gorgeous effects and low power consumption, let’s also remember another huge benefit of LED lighting – good-quality fixtures last for about 10 years without maintenance or lamp changing. Therefore, all these wonderful sustainable lighting features can remain interference-free, while the plants or materials naturally grow, age and change texture and colour. This is the beauty of using natural materials, and one of the driving forces behind the concept of sustainable design. Combine this with intelligent plant selection and the tiny power consumption of LED, and you have the potential for the ultimate sustainable desert landscape.”

Jane Aldersley is a landscape lighting specialist working exclusively with LED lighting. She has been working within the UAE landscape industry since 2007.

From The National Post

The intensity of color, the refinement of shadow, the synergy of shapes — such phrases are usually reserved for fine art classes or a Group of Seven tour through the Art Gallery of Ontario. But today they are the catch-phrases of a new breed of artist: the landscape lighting designer. What once was perceived as the last thought for residents after buying or building a property has now become a design priority. That is, if one wants to fit into the aesthetic zeitgeist of Toronto’s neighborhoods, which are being slowly lit up one by one.

Landscape lighting design can be described as “painting with light” — when lighting serves as more than a basic function and reinvents the outdoor space.

“No one tells Michelangelo to only use 250 colours when he really needs 300 to create a masterpiece,” says Bill Cradock, owner of Starlite Lighting Concepts. “It’s the same with landscape lighting. The most challenging thing about it is that the client may not share your vision. But it’s got to be done right.” Mr. Cradock describes his craft as “painting with light,” a talent best appreciated when the lighting serves more than a basic function and actually reinvents the outdoor space: “We cast the shadows of trees on to driveways, recreate the light of the moon or the sun, and allow a homeowner to feel as though the outside is an extension of the inside of their house.”

Scott MacKinnon of Light Emitting Design (LED) says North American cities are lagging Europe in this field. “European architecture is lit up so that pedestrians can walk through the city at night. Toronto is definitely a work in progress, but it’s a trend that’s really increased in popularity.”

Mr. MacKinnon, who used to light films, including Focus with William H. Macy, says LED bulbs open up a whole new world of possibilities when it comes to illuminating outdoor spaces. “No one wants blinding floodlights at the back of the house,” Mr. MacKinnon explains. “With LED lights you can really control exactly where the light is going and there’s no ultra-violet rays or swarms of bugs because the bulbs aren’t hot.”

What determines how something is lit, however, really depends on the property, the landscape itself and the personalities of the people who live there..………

…………. And herein lies the art of lighting. “It’s just something,” Mr. Cradock says, that “you have to have a feel for.” Or maybe these artists are heeding the call to light up the darkness one household, one cottage, one poolside patio at a time.

Read the entire story and related material at the National Post by clicking on the following link:

Survey identifies the top three outdoor design elements, and five most popular features of each.

By Charlotte O’Malley

Outdoor living spaces for entertaining and relaxing will be in high demand during 2014, according to the Residential Landscape Architecture Trends Survey conducted by the American Society of Landscape Architects in January-February 2014. The survey gathered responses from 179 landscape architecture professionals across the country who specialize in residential design, and asked them to rate the expected popularity of outdoor design elements as well as popular features for each. Check out the breakdown:

There are a number of good reasons to add exterior lighting to your home. You can highlight your home’s aesthetics, from its architecture to its landscaping, as well as add curb appeal and improve its resale value.

“A lot of my customers spend quite a bit of money on a beautiful landscape plan, and they can only enjoy it during the day,” said Wayne Fisher of Metroplex Landscape Lighting in Frisco, Texas. “It’s really nice to have lights on the trees and shrubs so they can also enjoy it at night.”

Even more importantly, adding outdoor lights reduces the risk of injury from falling in the dark and can reduce your risk of having your home burglarized by half, according to industry statistics.

“When the house is illuminated and walkways and stairs are lit, it helps make sure people don’t fall and get hurt,” said David Perlmutter, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Pittsburgh. “If people are out there looking to do harm at night, or break in, they’re usually not going in a house that has lights on it.”

There are two primary types of exterior lights — halogen and LED. Halogen lights use conventional 120-volt electricity and incandescent bulbs, and require a licensed electrician to install. Halogen typically costs less than LED, but the bulbs use more energy and don’t last as long. LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs operate off a low-voltage transformer and don’t require an electrician to install. Because they last longer and use less electricity, longer-term savings are realized more than with halogen.

“Halogen … last about 4,000 hours,” Perlmutter said. “Pretty much everything we’ve done over the past two-and-a-half years has been LED, which will be about 85 percent more energy efficient and last between 30,000 and 40,000 hours. So, you get a lifespan of 12 to 15 years out of the bulb.”

Both Perlmutter and Fisher say they often see do-it-yourself landscape lighting projects gone awry. By hiring a professional to install your exterior lighting, you can ensure you’re lighting the home in the most effective and appealing way.

“People love to put path lights on their walkway in what I call a runway-type fashion, where they have them across from each other,” Fisher said. “That’s really not the best way to do it. The best way is in a zigzag pattern, where they’re more random and not right across from each other. Another mistake we see is people will oftentimes put the lights in the wrong place, as far as shining on trees or shining on the house. They put it too close or too far away. We’ve done this so long; we know exactly where the lights should be placed to provide the most dramatic look.”

In case you were not aware, P.M. Lighting is on Angie’s List so don’t forget to check out what our clients have to say about us.

]]>https://pmlightingblog.com/2013/10/14/landscape-lighting-offers-aesthetics-security/feed/2pmlightingAngiesListLandscape Now: 5 Tips For Landscape Lightinghttps://pmlightingblog.com/2013/08/26/landscape-now-5-tips-for-landscape-lighting/
https://pmlightingblog.com/2013/08/26/landscape-now-5-tips-for-landscape-lighting/#commentsMon, 26 Aug 2013 18:24:11 +0000http://pmlightingblog.com/?p=368Continue reading →]]>Homeowners spend a considerable amount of effort, time, and expense creating their landscape gardens, patios, walks, features, and plantings, yet many times there is little thought about landscape lighting to highlight and illuminate their landscape for viewing and use when the sun goes down.

Lighting your outdoor space seems straightforward enough, right? On the contrary, there are several factors to consider in creating the best atmosphere.

With a well-designed lighting plan, your landscape can become enjoyable during the evening hours…in spring, summer, fall and even during the winter months from inside your home. With appropriately placed light sources you can achieve moonlight effects, highlights for focal points, illumination of paths and patios for safety and balanced lighting to tie in the landscape plantings, structures and lighting creating a very aesthetically pleasing landscape design. Let’s look at 5 tips to consider when designing landscape lighting and mistakes to avoid!

The Design Comes First

As with any project involving your landscape, gardens, and construction projects, it is extremely important to create a plan and design for the placement of light sources in your landscape, identify the principles of light to be used, techniques to be implemented, bulbs, fixtures, transformers, and wire needed. Although homeowners can investigate lighting and learn the basic principles, it is advised to seek out a landscape lighting designer to consult with to plan and implement major projects. Their expertise and familiarity with the intricate nature of low voltage lighting, effect of light and the numerous ways to provide the appropriate amount and intensity of light.

Goals of Landscape Lighting

The major goals of lighting are to provide security, ensure safety in the landscape, appropriate lighting for various needs and the overall aesthetics of the lighting plan. Each goal can be achieved in numerous ways, with each technique and choices affecting the overall aesthetic result of the lighting design. Although fixtures are the vehicles that hold the bulb, it is the light source (bulb) that is the most critical decision to be made by the designer.

Landscape Lighting Design Principles

Five principles of lighting design are:

Cohesion: the lighting plan must make visual sense to the viewer, combining the architectural, landscape, and lighting techniques into a sensible relationship with each other.

Depth: illumination of close and distance features will add depth to the owner’s view of the landscape, adding elements of intrigue to explore and move around the landscape.

Focal points: distinctive features in a landscape deserve to be highlighted…statues, pools, specimen trees, and architectural structures like arbors, gazebos, and specialty fencing.

Balance: There needs to be a sense of balance and proportion to the plants, structures, and features that are illuminated to create a feeling of visual congruity…areas of lighting and shadows that seem even and not unbalanced.

Visual comfort: Nothing is more uncomfortable for the viewer than glaring light sources, extremely bright bulbs, or misplaced fixtures. Making sure the lighting sources are comfortable for the viewer will ensure there are no distractions that will impact the effectiveness of the illumination.

Light Up Your Night!

Although creating a landscape lighting design plan and project may seem involved the result of installing lighting on your property will provide numerous opportunities to enjoy your landscape year round, ensure safety for your family and visitors and add an element of security to your home!

In my next article I will discuss the allure of water gardens in your landscape and 7 key points to consider when planning to add one to your landscape!

Think about it: Most of your guests (and if your home is on the market, many would-be buyers) see your home only in the evening, when its best features may be lost in the shadows. Well-executed outdoor lighting enhances architectural detail and plays up landscape features, casting your home in the best possible light and adding an abundance of curb appeal.

Outdoor lighting also adds value. Judith Patriski, an appraiser and owner of Quad Realty Co. near Cleveland, estimates that for upper-bracket homes, an investment in outdoor lighting can yield a 50% return. “When you pull into a driveway and see a gorgeous home, you’re going to pay more for it,” says Patriski.

And she emphasizes that it’s not only about aesthetics: “In all price ranges, lighting for security is important”—both to protect against intruders and falls. Here are the elements of successful outdoor lighting.

Mimicking moonlight

Much of the success of exterior lighting hinges on its design. Hang around lighting designers long enough and you’ll hear a lot of talk about “moonlight effect.” That’s a naturalistic look that features light no more intense than that of a full moon, but still strong enough to make beautiful shadows and intense highlights.

Other techniques outdoor lighting designers use:

Highlight trees: Whether illumined from below or given presence by a light mounted in the tree itself, trees make stunning features.

Use uplights: Uplighting is dramatic because we expect light to shine downward. Used in moderation, it’s a great way to highlight architectural and landscaping features.

Have a focus: The entryway is often center stage, a way of saying, “Welcome, this way in.”

Combine beauty and function: For example, adding lighting to plantings along a pathway breaks up the “runway” look of too many lights strung alongside a walk.

Vary the fixtures: While the workhorses are spots and floods, designers turn to a wide range of fixtures, area lights, step lights, and bollards or post lights.

Stick to warm light: A rainbow of colors are possible, but most designers avoid anything but warm white light, preferring to showcase the house and its landscape rather than create a light show.

Orchestrate: A timer, with confirmation from a photocell, brings the display to life as the sun sets. At midnight it shuts shut down everything but security lighting. Some homeowners even set the timer to light things up an hour or so before dawn.

Adding safety and security

Falls are the foremost cause of home injury, according to the Home Safety Council. Outdoors, stair and pathway lighting help eliminate such hazards.

Often safety and security can be combined. For example, motion-detecting security lighting mounted near the garage provides illumination when you get out of your car at night; the same function deters intruders. Motion detecting switches can also be applied to landscape lighting to illumine shadowy areas should anyone walk nearby.

Once disparaged for their high cost and cold bluish glow, LEDs are now the light source of choice for lighting designers. “They’ve come down in price and now have that warm light people love in incandescent bulbs,” says Paul Gosselin, owner of Night Scenes Landscape Lighting Professionals in Kingsland, Texas. “We haven’t installed anything but LEDs for the last year.”

Although LED fixtures remain twice as expensive as incandescents, installation is simpler because they use low-voltage wiring. “All in all, LEDs cost only about 25% more to install,” Gosselin says. “And they’ll save about 75% on your electricity bill.”

Another advantage is long life. LEDs last at least 40,000 hours, or about 18 years of nighttime service. With that kind of longevity, “why should a fixture have only a two-year warranty?” asks Gosselin. He advises buying only fixtures with a 15-year warranty, proof that the fixture’s housing is designed to live as long as the LED bulbs inside.

Before designing a landscape lighting plan, there are six things a landscape architect should consider.

Client goals and objectives

Ambient light levels

What materials and objects going to be illuminated

What types of plants will be illuminated

What should not be lit

Applicable laws, regulations, and codes

Let’s look at each item in more detail.

What Are The Client Goals & Objectives?

Landscape architects must first consider the client’s goals and objectives for the site at night. The client may have several competing goals in mind. For some clients, safety and security are the primary goals. Other clients may want to emphasize the architectural qualities of the site’s buildings and landscape features. The intended nighttime site use determines how the site will be illuminated.

Questions to ask the client early in the design phase include:

Who is the nighttime audience or target user?

Where will the space be viewed at night?

Will site visitors only view the space or navigate through the site?

How will the space be used at night?

What is the most important feature or critical focus?

What is the Site’s Ambient Light Level?

The site’s ambient light levels influences the amount of additional light that the designer will use to achieve the desired lighting effect. Existing site lighting, street lighting and lighting from adjacent properties all may affect the ambient light level.

What Materials & Objects Will Be Illuminated?

Before a landscape architect can start to design a landscape lighting plan, he or she needs to identify which objects or spaces need to be illuminated. Determine the design’s focal points are circulation system before beginning the lighting design.

Consider the color and materials of the objects you are going to illuminate. Rough-textured objects can be accentuated with some illumination techniques. Dark surfaces will require more light than lighter objects. A savvy designer will find gather useful information early on in the design process.

What Types of Plants Will Be Illuminated?

Plants can have a dramatic affect on the final lighting design. Trees can be up-lit, down-lit, cast shadows, or silhouetted. Landscape lighting effects can take advantage of interesting forms or textures of plants in the landscape.

What Should Not Be Lit?

Not every item in the landscape needs to be illuminated. Determine which objects do not require illumination for safety or as an accent in the landscape. Light trespass and light pollution are other things to avoid. Keep the light on your site and off of adjoining properties. Use cutoff fixtures to direct away from the sky and towards the ground to prevent light pollution.

What Are The Site’s Applicable Laws, Regulations, & Codes?

Determine the regulatory framework for the site before you begin the design. In California, Title 24 of the Energy Code restricts the amount of power that exterior lighting can consume. Additionally, the site’s “Light Zone” affects the amount of light than can be used based on the land use and density. Other codes include the California Electric code and codes that apply to swimming pools if water features are to be illuminated. Additionally, local codes can add layers of restrictions and complexity to the process.

Before starting a lighting plan, it is critical to determine the site’s and client’s goals and objectives. Determine what features will be illuminated and what not to light. And finally, determine energy restrictions that affect the lighting design.